Movie Box Review

The film DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (DIK YUN KIT ji TUNG TIN DAI GOK) reached 300 million at the Mainland box office. In April it landed in France and broke the Chinese film admission record. With the film's word of mouth and box office success, its production company Huayi Brothers decided to invest big again on TAI CHI trilogy with DEE's team. The first film will start production in June and be released in 2012.

Although the film has not started production, the film poster has already been unveiled in Cannes. In the poster was a giant metal monster TROY NO. 1, which was filled of contraptions and set dusts flying around it. At its cockpit two people could be seen. In front of it a child was posed to keep it from advancing. The overall feel was mysterious and full of space for imagination.

As for why the film's English title was TAICHI 0, Huayi Brothers president Wang Zhonglei said, "The 0 in the title is the number zero, hinting that this would be a trilogy that starts from zero. Every film would not only have exciting selling points but also tell the complete story of "how a generation of Tai Chi master was born". TAI CHI whether in terms of genre, plot or casting would be "From Zero To Hero".

Stephen Fung Tak Lun and Daniel Wu (Ng Yin Cho) recently formed the production company Diversion Pictures. After the Beijing press conference, yesterday they in Hong Kong held a contract signing ceremony with Huayi Brothers chief Wong Zhonglei to officially announce Huayi Brothers' investment in Diversion and collaboration on a series of film projects. Diversion first will make the film TAI CHI, then YING HUNG BOON SIK. Fung Tak Lun said that he purchased the right to remake the 1967 Lung Kong directed STORY OF A DISCHARGED PRISONER (YING HUNG BOON SIK) long ago. He and Ng Yin Cho will produce and they will look for a suitable director. Yesterday the event also aired John Woo (Ng Yu Sum)'s congratulatory video. Ng Yu Sum praised them as talents and looked forward to their YING HUNG BOON SIK.

Fung Tak Lun and Ng Yin Cho are good friends and now bosses, are they worried that they would argue? Ng Yin Cho joked that if they would, they would fight and whoever won would be in charge. Fung Tak Lun joked, "Then I should be in charge." Fung Tak Lun said that he and Ng Yin Cho always had the idea of creating a production company and talked about it for several years. Last year they confirmed. Ng Yin Cho said that Fung Tak Lun was a good friend, so in collaboration they did not have to hold back. Would they ask Ng Yu Sum to be YING HUNG BOON SIK consultant? Fung Tak Lun said that they would discuss it further. Does Fung Tak Lun have time to date now? He said that although he would like to he was too busy. He joked that the responsibility of screening actresses should go to him because Ng Yin Cho had a wife and should stay home. As for former rumored girlfriend Vivian Hsu (Tsui Yeuk Suen) supposedly had a new boyfriend, Fung Tak Lun said that he did not know and said that at this event he would just talk about film. Would he ask Tsui Yeuk Suen to make a movie? He honestly said that he would with a good subject, but he did not open this company for himself but to make good movies.

Huayi Brothers last year with movies like HOT SUMMER DAYS (CHUEN SING YIT LUEN), SHANGHAI, AFTER SHOCK, STOOL PIGEON (SIN YUN), DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (DIK YUN KIT ji TUNG TIN DAI GOK), and IF YOU ARE THE ONE 2 made over 1.6 billion at the box office. Recently Huayi Brothers announced its first major production this year, the Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit) and Chen Kuo-Fu produced TAI CHI (tentative title).

Lee Nin Kit who has worked with Huayi on FORBIDDEN KINGDOM not only plays an important legendary martial art figure in the film but also puts his years of experience in martial arts and Tai Chi into his job as a producer. Lee Nin Kit said, "Actually I have already thought about this for 20 years. I have always been concerned about a phenomenon, as people get busier and busier they overlook their health and happiness. Now the world has over 200 million people who are studying Tai Chi. The figure is staggering. It is not only a school of martial art but also an uniquely Chinese view of life."

Currently the film's script has basically been completed. As for the earlier rumored director Feng Xiaogang, Huayi Brothers made a clarification for the first time. Huayi chief Wong Zhonglei said that Feng Xiaogang this year will make a big production, the preparation and the production of which will take a long time and require a major investment of people and material. The project title and other details will be announced later. TAI CHI will have another director. Lee Nin Kit and Chen Kuo-Fu as producers have become powerful support for him. Huayi also will provide an enormous creative space for this new director and this film.